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So this is our third interview...

It's a privilege. I love the site, there's a lot of great talent on the PMP so I always want to be a part of what ya'll guys are doing... I definitely appreciate the look.

Thank you and we appreciate you utilizing the platform. Give us an update on the 2010 Slip-N-Slide artist roster and project release schedule.

Let me give you the run down from the rookies back to the vets. Out of the top 3 rookies on Slip N Slide my number one priority is Mike Bless. You can go on slipnslideworld.com right now and check him out, he got a single out called "Do it Like This" that we just started to work on and we're about to shoot the video for it. I definitely need a lot of tracks for him...the best way I can describe him is like Nelly when he first came out so I need some girl-orientated tracks and club records.

Then we have Shonie who is on Def Jam, we're dropping a lot of street records and remixes with her. She'll be dropping her first official single probably around the summer time. We have a few records we're considering right now but we haven't made a finally decision. Her sound is between club and real R&B but her voice is so beautiful and melodic she can kill it on either level.

Last we have Swazy Baby who's our next Plies and Rick Ross combined. He's street but what's unique about him is he can also sing, rap and produce so it's a triple threat and he's shutting the clubs down right now. Swazy is going strong down here in Florida and is building his name up in other regions in the South like Georgia.

How about the veteran artists?

We got Trina who just dropped her single "Million Dollar Girl" featuring Keri Hilson and Diddy. We're going to shoot that video Super Bowl weekend so that's going to be crazy. We got Plies coming out in March with the current single "Medicine" featuring Keri Hilson out now. We got Rick Ross coming out hopefully this summer with "Teflon Don" and the new addition to the label Jagged Edge who've got the single out "Tip of my Tongue" featuring Gucci Mane and Trina. That's the roster right there.

Talk about the distribution breakdown because you have certain artists that are signed to different major labels

We have Trina, Mike Bless, Jagged Edge and my dude Duece Poppi all going through EMI now as part of a new deal we did with them. We picked EMI because they have worldwide distribution and we have a great deal with them so structure-wise it was more beneficial for us to go that route. We love our deal with Def Jam and we love our deal with Atlantic but financially now were moving toward the future of building Slip N Slide as a brand that can stand on its own two feet were we can do everything in-house. So I'm good with going that direction especially when it comes to the new artists we're signing now.

What do you feel are some of the biggest changes occurring in the urban music landscape going into the new decade?

Right now you really have to build superstars there is no longer any space for mediocre artists that can only make one great song and that's it. Back in the days one-hit wonders, if handled correctly could really live off of that one record for years like Tone Loc and Sir Mix-A-Lot. They sold millions of copies so everybody 30 years old and up can still remember being 16, 17 years old hearing one record on the radio you love and then running right to the record store the day it came out to buy the album. Even if the album wasn't hot you had no choice but to purchase it to hear that one song you love. Those days are over now so if you come out now with a half-ass album you're not going to sell any albums.

The only people selling now are artists that are making classic albums and you can really count on your hand how many artists went platinum in 2009. You got Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Black Eyed Peas and a couple of others. Everybody else sold fewer than 500,000 copies which is crazy. The way Slip N Slide is structured we have to spend less in order to make a profit now. It's all about watching what you spend and really looking for an artist that can do everything. I'm looking for an artist that can act, sing, write and produce. If you can only sing that might not be enough because you can have a no #1 song and sell no units. So there has to be other avenues the artist can exploit in order to maximize the revenue potential.

What's your view on artists that can sell a couple of million digital singles but not go Gold or Platinum when it comes to album sales? Are the digital singles enough to consider the project a major success?

It's enough if you're using the artist for that one song. The whole thing about the music industry is you want to build an act up to the point when they're on their 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th album you (the label) don't have to spend as much because they're established now. When you have an established artist such as a Jay-Z for example his fans will go see him in concert regardless of whether he has a song out or not because you know his body of work. Everybody already knows who Jay-Z is. Now you may hear a new song which sold a million records but you're not going to see that artist in concert because you like the song but you barely know the artist name much less care about them enough to see them live. You will jam to it if you hear it on the radio but if they're in town why would I want to go see them, there's not enough appeal until you're exposed to a body of work from them over a period of time. The artist has to build a reputation of putting on a great show so people will feel they're missing out and put their money up to be a part of the experience

So the main objective is to blow the artist up without breaking the bank...

Exactly!

Has this lead to you looking to work with newer talented writers and producers who can provide the same hit material but at the fraction of cost?

I like working with new producers and writers because of the hunger they bring. I love to see new artists and producers blossom from not having a dollar in their pocket to becoming a millionaire off of one song. The new guys usually come harder than most of the established ones but there are a few vets that are willing to work with me no matter how big they are. I tell them 'look I can't afford to pay you $100,000 for a track anymore, its just not financially feasible' and they're still willing to be in 100% so that's a good situation.

If you check the new Trina and Jagged Edge projects you will see new faces pop up on the production side that I've been using. With Jagged Edge's new single there is a new producer that nobody knows but I love to give new guys a shot because most people wouldn't even take their phone call.

Because of the financial constraints have the agreements between the producers and labels become more creative in terms of upfront fees and bartering?

Yes they have to...producers have to understand that we're now in a completely different industry than it was five years ago and definitely ten years ago. Back when I was working for Luke Records I remember dealing with Lil Jon and Collipark who went by the name of DJ Smurf. I used to fly them down from Atlanta, they would play beats on their drum machines and I would pick the ones I like and literally pay them right there. We would do the contract, pay them, they would dump the beats and then fly back home. They would give us 15, 20, 30 beats and then we would go finish the album. Those days are over.

Now because there are fewer albums it's harder for a producer. When I get 30 tracks from a producer back in the days I would pick 5 of them just to spread around to different people but now with albums being scarce I tell the producers 'look if you're not giving me a single I won't be able to get you any work so you have to give me your best in order for me to cut a check to you'. Another thing I'm doing now with producers is a lot of mixtape work. Let's do a deal where I'm going to pay you a smaller amount right now so we can put the music out and if the song does get release on the album in the future I will pay you some more at that time. The Internet game is so big right now I can put out 10, 15 songs of an artist on a mixtape and if the artist gets hot then the producer can get hot because if I hear a hot joint the first thing I'm saying is 'damn who did that beat?'. Its all about getting your music out there...I just told a producer the other day to tag your instrumental at the beginning and tag it at the end so people can keep hearing your name and other A&R's can seek you out.

It's all about branding in 2010

Exactly, we're real big on branding right now no question

Speaking on the Internet talk about the new Slip N Slide website

That's our main site similar to a thisis50.com where you can get updates on the artists, new music and other related information.

With the mainstream music scene currently dominated with a more pop appeal should we expect Slip N Slide to follow suit?

Oh yea I'm going straight pop to be honest with you. I'm going for that Rhythmic/Top 40 money straight up! We're an urban-based label and we're going to always have our Plies and Rick Ross type of artists going back to the days of Trick Daddy. It's still going to be that traditional Slip N Slide but to survive in this music industry now you have to be able to do more than one thing. I watch the charts and I know what's selling and what isn't so with radio moving more into the Rhythmic format my focus will be more in that direction as well.

Besides your Slip-N-Slide priorities, what else are you currently working on?

My main focus as far as personally is my artist Honorebel who is actually a reggae artist but again with the way the industry is moving he's doing just dance music which has been working great for him. He signed to Ultra Records out of New York which is one of the biggest dance labels in the world and he got a single out now called 'Now You See It' featuring Pitbull and Jump Smokers.

As far as producers I've been working with a kid name Mad Screws who produced the first single on the new Jagged Edge project. I'm also working with some producers I discovered off the PMP called Sound Twins, incredible guys. I was looking through the site and I ran across their page, started listening to some of their songs and it was actually a song that was posted as 'sold' and then I called them like 'oh no I need that, we will buy it back'. Then they started sending me more music and I've been using them ever since so you will hear a lot coming from them this year. They'll definitely be on Honorebel's project and I'm working on some other stuff with them with Trina and some of our other new Slip N Slide artists as well. I'm also working with another kid Youngfyre who's been bringing a lot of heat to the table. Matter of fact my man that works with me Young Money actually found Youngfyre off the PMP and then he brought him to me. Both Youngfyre and the Sound Twins are incredible new producers and I look forward to doing my best to get them some hot placements for 2010 and beyond.

Is it safe to say at this point it's almost mandatory that producers bring not only a hot track but a solid chorus, hooks, reference vocals, etc?

If your goal is to get more placements then yes I agree. You can literally double your placements by bringing a complete record or at least a beat with a hook. At the end of the day it's the beat and the hook that makes most of the hit records today. If you have someone that can just kill the verses that's even better but if you can bring me a smash beat and hook then it makes it easier for me to just figure out who I'm going to put on it to make it a hit single. So I definitely suggest to producers that make hot beats to find that key writer because if you get the right combination on both ends then you will land placements all day long. It's hard enough to find a great producer but even harder to find a great songwriter.

What makes a songwriter great?

It's so hard to say what makes a good songwriter, its just a matter of if the song is incredible or not. It has a lot to do with the content that the artist is singing or rapping about and how it hits the listener.

For those not from the 305 fill us in on what's going on in the Miami/South Florida scene?

The Miami scene is always popping; right now you have a dude by the name of J-Dub who is signed to CTE records he got a hot record out right now. You got Flo Rida, Pleasure P and the Carol City Cartel. I'm a big 305 supporter...can't forget Pitbull that's my brother right there; he's completely international right now so I'm happy for his success. Everybody's doing their thing down here but yea the hottest dude up in the clubs right now is J-Dub.

In regards to the music industry overall what improvements would you like to see?

Good question. I would definitely say all the egos just need to stop! You have guys that have one hit record under their belt and think they're the kings of the world just need to breathe easy for real. This industry is not built for those types of egos any more because you can be hot today and literally gone tomorrow. I'm big on relationships because the same people you see going up are the same ones you see going down so relax and focus on what you need to do to stay relevant. I can think of quite a few artists that you heard from last year that you won't hear from this year so I would recommend that everybody stay humble, that's the most important thing.

With me I speak to everybody, even if you're an artist and you don't have nothing much going on at the moment I can at least have a conversation with you. I don't walk around like 'I'm the big A&R VP at Slip N Slide' even though I feel I'm one of the best based on my roster and history. All I care about is the fire. I will work with anybody that's bringing that fire...if you're bringing me garbage and I don't return your phone call you will know why. If however you're bringing me stuff that makes sense then you can call my number anytime you want. Some A&R's you can't even get in touch with these guys period but me I will call you if you got that heat.

Talk some more about the proper business etiquette especially for the newer producers and artists when it comes to dealing with you

Be ready. Don't call me talking about you're 'about' to hit the studio, get it done and if you got that next smash hit THEN call me. Bring the best you got, don't bring me the mediocre shit or else the next time its going to be harder to get in touch with me. Regardless of what you do always start the relationship with your hottest material because then its going to put you at a status where people are going to have to respect what you do. But then that's where the humble part comes in because the minute you begin to act too cocky people are not going to return your calls no matter how hot your music is.

I had situations where I help put new people on and then they turn around talking about 'nah I'm not doing that or its only going to work if its my way' and its like buddy you wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for me so stay humble and work hard and keep working hard even after you obtain a certain level of success. God is always going to bless your efforts

Do you attribute your ability to last this long in the business due to keeping humble and keeping a positive attitude?

Man all praises are due to Him. I'm very religious and I actually should be even more to tell you the truth. Especially with Ted Lucas who owns Slip N Slide he's also very religious and we try to keep that level of spirituality around us because without Him there is nothing so if you put Him first he will always give you blessings.

Honestly if you look around we're one of the only sub-labels left in the game. A lot of them have went under while others don't have any superstar acts on their rosters but we still have 4 major acts that can still go out and get Gold albums, most companies don't have that so we've been blessed.

If you had to put up your own money who would you bet on going platinum in Hip Hop in 2010?

New artist or overall?

Overall

Wow that's the million dollar question. It all comes down to the music; if the music is right then it can happen. I would place my bet on Kanye West. But let me say again if the music isn't right I don't care if you're T.I. there is no guarantee that you will sell a million albums, its all about the music.